The Chapel at YWAM Tyler started as a 12' by 15' well house which was converted to a small place to pray. Years later, volunteers came and built a space for many to gather. Whether it's in groups coming together for focused prayer or a single person kneeling at the cross, countless of people have encountered the Lord in this space. Here are a few stories of such moments...

"It’s such a blessing to walk our son in his stroller by the place where my husband and I were married. It's not our wedding anniversary today, but I can't hold my tears of joy back. Actually, almost every day when I walk by this chapel, my eyes fill with tears. It reminds me to celebrate God’s love and faithfulness every day.

First time I saw this chapel, when we were doing one of the secondary schools at this campus, I said to my husband, "Let’s get married here," which is exactly what we did.

The day that I found out I was pregnant, I went to pray in this same place and the scripture that came to my mind was from Deuteronomy 31:6,  “Be strong (Brave) and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you.” Brave became the middle name for the son I was carrying.

Then after our son was born, on the first day we went out with him, guess where we first took him? Yep, you guessed it....THE CHAPEL! We were thanking God for continuing to be number one in our marriage and grateful to hold our little one in this special place. We will always remember this place as the place where God fulfilled His spoken promises to us."

~ Irena Bytyqi is married to Burim and both come from Southeastern European countries. They've been at YWAM Tyler since the Summer of 2015.

"I still needed a bunch of money for my outreach, and it was just a week away. I was really struggling.

On a Friday night, we had a worship time in the prayer chapel. I came in with a heavy heart, and it was hard to worship. The worship leader said something like, "Sometimes there are things distracting you that are holding you back from focusing on God. Take a moment to pray and put something representative of your burdens at the cross for this evening."

I looked at my empty, very thin wallet and set it at the cross. My security shouldn't be in material things. No matter what happened, finances or not, I knew my Papa had a perfect plan for me. That night I was able to enjoy worshipping God, and the heaviness melted away."

~ Allison Mear has been involved with multiple schools since 2012 and is currently serving on staff with YWAM Tyler.

"About six months ago Josh Langer (YWAM Tyler's worship director) invited my husband and I to Twin Oaks Ranch for Inspire. He wanted my husband, Dustin, to lead worship and speak at one of the breakout sessions. I got super excited that they wanted to fly me out too. I had been wanting to come and experience this place for so long.

When we came to Inspire, I was absolutely blown away by the people and the culture. The presence of God felt more tangible to me than I'd ever felt.

On our second day there, my husband had a meeting, so I snuck off to the prayer chapel. I couldn't believe how much peace I felt when I walked through that door.

The sign said to take your shoes off because of the mud, but I felt like I needed to because I was setting foot on truly holy ground. I knew that some serious praying had taken place in that building.

As I was on my knees praying, I had this stirring in my heart. I felt like it was time for me to finally do a DTS here in Tyler. I started getting so excited and my heart was racing. I asked God to please confirm it through someone else if this was the right time. I know myself and at times tend to be lead by emotions. I didn't want that to be the case this time.

I left the chapel and met up with my husband for lunch. I told him I felt like I needed to do a DTS here in Texas. He was bucking it a little bit like usual when I say something that seems a bit outlandish. But, that didn't deter me from waiting on the confirmation from God. I needed to be certain.

Well not even 24 hours after my time in the prayer chapel, I was talking to my husband's good friend Keith, who is a school leader at YWAM Tyler. Keith proceeded to tell me that he knew I had mentioned wanting to do a DTS sometime. He said he started praying for me the night before and felt like the Lord spoke to him about offering me a full scholarship.

I immediately started crying. There it was. There was my confirmation. Not only was I crying because I love when God speaks like that, but I was also in tears over the fact that someone I barely knew actually took the time to pray for me like that. I was literally on a hundred the rest of our stay."

~ Kari Tavella did complete her DTS with her husband Dustin. 

There's another story from YWAM Tyler's Prayer Chapel that hasn't been told yet. YOURS! Come grow closer to God and experience sharing His love to the nations on a mission trip like no other. There is a place for you here.